[New Watches for 2023] Hermès unveils the Slim d'Hermès Legendary Horse, an ambitious watch featuring a horse in dots, a signature design

The Slim d'Hermès Legendary Horse features a dynamic scene of a horse galloping on its dial, and is a special timepiece limited to just 24 pieces worldwide. The horse is depicted in dots on the enamel-finished 18K white gold dial. The bezel is set with 52 baguette-cut diamonds.

Based on a design by artist Benoît Pierre Emery

　The Slim d'Hermès, launched in 2015, is a timepiece that combines precision and harmony, expressing the ultimate simplicity of the pursuit of the essential. It is in part in line with the Maison's worldview.

　The distinctive lines of the round case with its sharply angled lugs encircle a dial featuring dots depicting the powerful moment of a galloping horse. Galloping is the way a horse runs at full speed, with a maximum of two hooves touching the ground at the same time.

　The dial is crafted from enameled white gold, with gold and enamel dots, and the bezel is set with 52 baguette-cut diamonds, totalling 1.82 carats.

　The origin of this design motif is a silk scarf carré (at Hermès, a square scarf is called a "carré") created by artist Benoît-Pierre Emery in 2010, which depicted a soaring horse in gold dots on silk fabric. This image has been transferred to the dial, and the horse's figure has been reinterpreted using the paillonnaise enamel technique.

　This technique involves sandwiching very small pieces of gold leaf, called paillons, between layers of enamel, creating an effect of play of light, transparency and depth.

Dial inlaid with 1678 beads

　To create the pink gold model, artisans use a laser to drill tiny holes in the pre-enameled, hand-polished gold surface. One by one, they insert 1678 pink gold beads into these holes, which are then heated in a kiln to set them into the enamel surface. This is a highly delicate process, and just a few seconds of timing can make or break the final result.

　The blue model is inlaid with blue enamel beads. The base is gold, with multiple layers of white enamel applied, each dried and fired. The blue beads are made from crushed enamel crystals, carefully selected for their precise diameter. The 1678 enamel beads are moistened and placed one by one on the base with tweezers, then heated in a kiln to set them in place.

　The watch is powered by Hermès' mechanical automatic caliber, H1950. It is housed in a 39.5mm 18K white gold case and comes with a strap crafted in Hermès Horloger atelier in Chantilly (cream) matte alligator leather or blue sapphire alligator squirrel leather.